Sustainable architecture has made great advances over the last 20 years and had a huge impact on the way we approach new home design. ‘Green building’ used to be a specialist service offered to particular clients at a premium price. Today sustainable building design has become mainstream. Constructing a new home with sustainability firmly in mind should be standard practice for the modern architect.
According to recent figures from the Home Builders Federation, a total of 293,127 new homes were granted planning permission in 2016. This was the highest figure for new approvals in ten years. It is good news that we are seeing some progress on this aspect of residential architecture in the UK. However, as the Federation themselves point out, the number of permissions granted is usually not reflected in the number of homes being completed.
One of the challenging aspects of working on architectural heritage projects is the fact that our old buildings are often full of unexpected surprises, and working on their alteration or restoration demands a great deal of skill, experience and resourcefulness.
Getting new plans approved can be particularly challenging in areas like Cornwall and Devon, where there is an understandable desire to preserve the character and beauty of our local countryside and villages. It can be even more challenging when a client has a particularly ambitious or unique contemporary home design that they want to achieve.
There is no doubt that high street retailing has been under considerable pressure over recent years. According to a report by PwC, last year an average of fifteen high street stores were closing down each day. As well as the current economic climate and its impact on consumer spending, high street stores have been facing tough competition from the big out of town retail parks and from online shopping.
Being the country that was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution, the UK has a unique range of industrial buildings that can potentially be converted for new uses. However, this fascinating element of our built heritage can often be neglected.
In 2016, estate agents Tepilo published a study of 2,000 UK homeowners which found that 43% dream of having a custom-built property, with a setting on the coast being the most popular choice of location.
In the current economic climate, commercial property will continue to yield higher value returns than many other forms of assets. However, to take full advantage of this, the commercial architect needs to have a thorough grounding in the commercial realities of your business and the way in which you plan to generate additional turnover and profit from any new development.
In this country, we are privileged to have an extraordinary range of historic buildings, each with their own unique character and fascinating architectural heritage. Our built heritage tells the story of our nation, and brings it to life in a way that no other aspect of our culture can.
